Weather Change-Limits 
235 
iii tlieir element here : the best of the lot took his place in the bows and 
hardly had his practised vision recognised the fish shooting past like 
lightning than the arrow was let fly, remained trembling a few seconds 
perpendicularly with the surface, and then disappeared. This was a 
sure sign that the animal must be of considerable size, because on account 
of its strength and speed only especially heavy arrows can be used in its 
capture. Everything now depends on not letting a moment slip when 
the arrow shows again: as this occurs an Indian ready to jump, imme- 
diately plunges into the water and seizes it; should he miss and it sink 
once more into the depths, fish and arrow are generally lost, particularly 
when there is a second rapid in the vicinity which it will attempt to 
reach and “shoot with the current. Within a short while we caught 
seven, of which some were 20. others 27 inches long, and weighed from 
5 to 10 lbs. Hamlet had taken all measures to prepare them as tastily 
as possible and his culinary skill was heartily appreciated. 
713. Owing to the situation of our camp not admitting of Mr. Youd 
spending the night with us here, he had pitched his a short distance 
away. When evening fell, the singing of the Indians, with whom he 
every morning held service, was wafted over to us: suddenly dying away 
as if swallowed in the raging uproar of the rushing torrents, it just as 
quickly rang out again in voices bright and clear, until at last we only 
heard the dull thunder of the stream that sang us a wild slumber-song 
through the stillness of the night. 
714. Anxious to be off by early sunrise so as to sling our hammocks 
in the evening on the farther side of Alvaro, the last rapids of the first 
series, everybody was up and doing in our camp long before daybreak. 
Once over this first series eve could then count on a smooth trip for at 
least a few days until the second series should offer new troubles and 
dangers. 
715. We had left Georgetown with the entrance of the short rainy 
season and as far as the first rapids, had experienced its effects: these 
nevertheless appeared to constitute the meteorological change-limit of 
weather ( Wetterscheide ) for since yesterday hardly a drop more rain 
fell and the continuance of the loveliest weather favoured our journey 
up the Essequibo. 
71 <i. Having at last got over the Aharo Falls all right we proceeded 
peacefully and serenely up the Essequibo which seemed to have quite 
altered its appearance once more. Below the Falls if was covered with 
innumerable small islands: above them we everywhere came upon a 
number of more or less considerable sandbanks, which forced us to take 
a continual zig-zag course. I could quite understand the boathands’ 
shouts of delight in which I joined with all my heart after we had 
crossed the falls: but I could not puzzle out at first the similar rejoicings 
with which the sandbanks were greeted until several of the Indians, 
before even the corials touched land, sprang impatiently into the river, 
swam to one of them, suddenly started scraping up the sand, and 
brought out a quantity of eggs. The laying season of the turtles had 
commenced, a time which the Indians look forward to with just as much 
gusto as do our German gourmets to the flight of the woodcock, or to the 
